Scars & Stories
by xoloveJBox
Summary: Alex Karev doesn't seem to care very much for anyone but himself. Or at least that's what everyone thought. But when they learn he has a little sister who he's been looking after for years, they realise just how wrong they were, and Alex is seen in a different light. But raising a teen isn't what Alex had thought it would be, and he needs all the help he can get.
1. Prologue

_**A/N: Hi :)**_

_**This is my first Grey's fanfic, so please bear with me haha :') **_

_**I have a few chapters written for this already, but I have several fanfics that I write (because I'm incapable of sticking to one at a time haha) so I'm only going to carry on if people show interest. Alex is by far one of my favourite characters in the show, and I'm looking forward the chance to write him more, so if you enjoy this, please let me know that I know to continue!**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Katie, and one or two characters that I plan to introduce later on, if it gets that far. Nothing you recognise belongs to me :)**_

_***There is no Amber in this story, because I couldn't think of a viable reason for Alex to take one sister but not the other***_

_**This is set around season three, and I plan to pretty much follow the storylines of the show with my OC added in with her own plots too :)**_

_**I'm going to shut up now before the AN ends up being longer than the actual chapter lol :p So yeah, I love getting reviews so much. I really feel like they've helped me develop as a writer since I started posting on here, and any feedback would be so so appreciated! I try to reply to as many as I can so please please R+R :D**_

_**Thank you!**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

* * *

_**Prologue**_

It was still dark outside, and the little girl was sitting quietly on the sofa, bundled up in her coat, ready to go. Her brothers and mother were in and out of the house, screaming at each other as boxes and suitcases were being loaded into the car, but she didn't say a word. She barely moved, worried about getting in the way and making the yelling even louder.

"Please don't do this!" She heard her mother plead as her oldest brother returned to the house to grab the last suitcase-hers.

"I'm not having this talk again Mom!" he argued, stalking back out the door to put the case in the trunk. The little girl missed a part of the conversation while they were at the end of the driveway, but when they returned, she knew they were talking about her.

"...is _my _daughter, Alex!" The woman argued fervently "And she's only six years old! You can't just take her away!"

"You can't even take care of yourself!" Alex retorted sharply "At least she might have a chance at a normal life if I take her." Alex glanced around quickly, making sure that he hadn't forgotten anything. Satisfied that everything he needed was packed away in the car, he strode over to his sister and scooped her up into his arms.

"Katherine, come to Mommy baby," the woman sniffed, forcing a smile onto her cheeks as she held out her arms for the little girl in one last feeble attempt to regain control of the situation. She couldn't, and didn't bother to, hide the hurt she felt when her only daughter responded by wrapping her arms tightly around her brother's neck, clinging to him and burying her face away from her.

"It's ok Kate," Alex cooed softly, rubbing his hand comfortingly along her back, and he felt his sister slowly unwind a little. He busied himself for a few minutes, carrying her out to the car and buckling her in, making sure that she was comfortable-they had a good few hours' drive ahead of them, and since it was still early, he wanted her to be able to sleep if she wanted to. College had never really been something he'd considered, but when he'd been offered a wrestling scholarship at the University of Iowa to study medicine, he couldn't pass it up. He was taking the opportunity to start again-forget all the crap he'd dealt with for as long as he could remember, and he sure as hell wasn't going to leave his little sister behind. He'd offered to take his brother too, so that they could all have a shot at some form of normality, but at fourteen, Alex knew he couldn't make Aaron do anything.

"Last chance Aaron," The oldest implored, looking seriously at his little brother once Katie was strapped in and ready to go. "Are you coming?"

Alex watched for a second, as his brother seemed to be thinking, and ultimately Aaron shook his head, though it was almost imperceptible, but it was exactly the answer he'd been expecting. Although Alex would have been happier if Aaron was joining them, he knew that his college was far enough away for him to feel comfortable, but close enough that he could get back if he needed to, so he wasn't overly worried.

He was hit with a battering wave of guilt when his mother continued to sob; he was only trying to do what was best for his family, even if he was the only one who could see that. _Why was he the only one who could see that? _

Without really thinking, Alex stepped determinedly across to his mother and pulled her into a hug. He tried to ignore the wet seeping into the shoulder of his t-shirt, and the fact that his little brother was sniffling beside them. He had to fight to remind himself that he was doing what he felt like he had to. Yes, he thought it was partly selfish, him wanting to get away, but he also kind of felt like he deserved that. Not many of his friends could even start to comprehend what his home life was like and had been for years. Most of the time, he couldn't even wrap his head around the mess his life had degenerated into. Before he could convince himself that he should stay, Alex quickly pulled away and took a step back.

"It's going to be ok Mom," he assured her gently, his voice barely above a whisper. His mother simply turned away from him and staggered up the drive-way, disappearing back into the house, leaving the two brothers standing in the emerging dawn light.

Alex scratched at the back of his neck, trying to think of something he could say to make his brother feel better, but the words escaped him.

"Here," he said instead, mentally kicking himself as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small wad of ten dollar bills that he'd been saving for this moment "for emergencies." He instructed, pressing it into Aaron's palm. "Make sure Mom takes her meds, do your homework, don't skip any school and just..." He wanted to carry on. Even more than that, he wanted to bundle his little brother into the car and just take all three of them away because, standing in front of him, it was hard for Alex to see Aaron as anything other than the scared little kid who used to jump into his bed in the middle of the night, when the arguments got too loud, or the boy who helped him clean the house after one of their parent's brawls with each other left destruction in their wake. But he could also see the boy who had never looked at him the same way after he decided enough was enough, after he'd kicked his dad's ass so hard he never came back, and Alex knew that Aaron didn't need to be reminded that his big brother was the reason they were alone, left to deal with the aftermath, forced to grow up quicker than they should have.

Aaron looked dubiously down at the money in his hand, and though he tried to hide it, when he bit his lip, Alex knew what Aaron was thinking.

"Don't worry," Alex told him assuredly "I'll send you more. It's going to work out, I promise." Aaron nodded, but he still seemed doubtful, and Alex was completely clueless as to how he was supposed to change that.

"We'd better get going." He said eventually, stuffing his hands a little awkwardly into his pocket. Aaron nodded again, unsure of what to do. Alex briefly considered the idea of hugging his little brother, but that hadn't been something they'd done for a few years, and he didn't want to ramp up their discomfort in the situation. In the end, Alex simply stuck out his hand to shake, and after looking at it almost confusedly for a second, Aaron reciprocated.

"I'll see you soon Kid," Alex promised firmly. He needed Aaron to know that he was serious before he left, but he didn't want to push, so he was forced to simply hope that his message had gotten across the way he wanted.

Without another word, Alex turned away and clambered into the car. Katie was watching him intently, wide-eyed and curious, still wondering exactly what was going on. Alex wished he knew how to explain it to her, but he was adamant that he was doing what was best for her, and that wasn't going to change.

He took a deep, steadying breath and turned the key in the ignition, feeling his old, rusting but fairly reliable car rumble to life beneath him.

"You ready Katie?" he asked, forcing his voice to sound cheerful, glancing at his sister in the rear-view mirror. Katie grinned broadly, nodding enthusiastically at him, and it was enough to make him feel at least a little better about everything going on. He couldn't quite bring himself to look back at he pulled away from the house, so he never knew if Aaron had already retreated, or if he was watching them disappear, but what he did know was that he only let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding when he could no longer see the street he'd grown up on.

"Why don't you try to get some sleep, huh?" he suggested, noticing his sister fighting to keep her eyes open as she determinedly watched everything go past her window, filled with interest and excitement "Everything's going to be better when you wake up."

It didn't take long for the soft sound of Katie's low, quiet breathing to filter to his eyes, and he knew that she'd finally succumbed to slumber. She seemed so peaceful, completely at ease, and confident in the promises her big brother made. He just wished he had a way of knowing whether his words were true or not.


	2. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hi everyone! **_

_**I've had so many more reviews on the prologue than I could have expected, so thank you so much for that! **_

_**I've had a lot of questions about what pairing this story is going to be regarding Alex, and I know there's no way to keep everyone happy, but here it goes: My aim is to pretty much follow the storyline of the show, with a few added plots in there for Katie. So yes, Alex will be with Izzie at some point, because I think their relationship was important to Alex's character development, but I didn't particularly like them as a couple (I don't think Izzie loved Alex as much as he loved her, and I can't even express how selfish I think she was to him when she left. Anyway, not the point...haha) so I won't be dwelling on their relationship in this story as much as in the show. I hope that's ok with everyone!**_

_**I have the next chapter written (and it is super long!) but I want to get the one after that written before I post anymore, so that I've always got one more written ahead (does that makes sense? :s haha)**_

_**Anyway, I'm going to shut up now lol! Please let me know what you think!**_

_**Thank you!**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

* * *

_**Chapter One**_

_Nine years later_

Alex Karev was content. He wasn't 'this-is-the-best-day-of-my-life-and-nothing-could-ever-ruin-it' happy, but it was almost seven thirty in the morning, and he was finally letting himself into his apartment building, heading for his bed after a thirty-two hour shift, where he'd managed to scrub into three surgeries, one of which he was unlikely to ever see again, so yeah, he was pretty pleased with himself. But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't tired, and although being a surgical intern meant he was used to long shifts, he was more than looking forward to a hot shower and his bed.

Alex glanced down at his watch as he dug around in his pockets for his keys. He knew that his sister would still be home for a few more minutes, and he smiled when he heard soft, light singing from inside his apartment, confirming his thought. He couldn't remember the last time Katie wasn't chatting or singing or humming, and if it were anyone else, it would annoy him beyond belief. In fact, she liked talking so much she learned how to do it in several languages, which was something that seemed to come so easily to her.

He let himself in and spotted his sister straight away. She had his back to him, but he could see the little white buds of her earphones in her ears. She hadn't noticed him, so Alex closed the door quietly and snuck up behind her, yanking an earphone out, making her scream.

"Jackass!" She yelled, flinging out her hand, punching him in the arm "You scared the crap out of me!"

"It's nice to see you too, Angel-face," Alex laughed heartily, amused at her reaction.

"I swear one of these days, I'm going to change the locks or something," She warned sternly as Alex continued to chortle while he shrugged out of his jacket and leant against the counter "I'd have the time to do it too, you know. Sometimes I consider giving myself food poisoning just to have the chance to have a conversation with you."

"Since when were you such a whiner?" Alex retorted, scrubbing a hand tiredly across his face.

"I have plenty of time to perfect my skills," Katie shot back with a smirk.

"Did you take your-" Alex started, but Katie was so used to the question that he didn't even need to finish it before she gave him an answer.

"Yep."

"How much sleep did you get?" He questioned, and Katie refrained from rolling her eyes.

"Eight and a half hours." She answered dutifully, deciding to just entertain his routine, just like she did every morning. Even if he wasn't going to be home, Alex called to interrogate her the same way each morning.

"You go for your run?"

"I did." Katie answered before grinning mischievously "God, how can you be this tired and still find the energy to ask me stupid questions?" She knew that even if she wasn't unflagging with her medication, her brother was diligent enough for the both of them.

Alex held his hands up in mock defence "I'm just making sure you don't forget."

"Have I ever forgotten before?" Katie challenged with an eyebrow raised at him.

"No." Alex admitted with a small, wry smile. He knew she was right-she'd been diagnosed with epilepsy when she was eight and although it had been a struggle to get her to take her meds at first, she'd never missed a dose, no matter how much she hated them.

"Well then." She concluded, going over to the fridge and pulling out a pizza box, tossing it onto the counter between them "Here, have breakfast."

"Left over pizza is not breakfast Kate." Alex chuckled lightly, though he opened the box and the two of them helped themselves all the same.

"I know, but we don't have anything else." Katie told him coolly, chomping casually on her slice of cold pizza "We need to go grocery shopping, because if I eat take-out for much longer, I'm going to get fat and pimply, and I do not need to add that to my list of things to make my life hard."

"Fine," Alex shrugged nonchalantly "we'll go when you get home from school if it means you'll stop being a drama queen."

"I'm glad to see that exhaustion isn't affecting your usual pleasant demeanour big brother." Katie commented cheerfully, not even bothering to hide the sarcasm that leaked into her tone, which only made her brother chuckle at her. Katie looked down at her watch and tried to hide her disappointment at the time it showed. "Shoot," she muttered "I have to go. But you should sleep, and I will see you after school."

Alex nodded, finishing his pizza now that fatigue was catching up with him in crashing waves, and Katie pecked a quick kiss to his cheek as she passed him, as she did whenever he was around when she was leaving for school.

"Oh, and I did the laundry last night, which means there are plenty of clean towels, so you should probably shower, because you kind of stink." Katie told him matter-of-factly as she gathered up her bag and jacket, shooting him a wide, playful grin over her shoulder "You're welcome!"

She had scurried out the door before Alex had a chance to reply, and he wondered, not for the first time in his life, how Katie managed to be such a cheerful kid. When he had been her age, Alex knew for sure that it was probably the most miserable time of his life. But, he didn't want to question it too much in fear that it would change if the universe thought he was being dubious, so he was happy to accept that Katie was just more stable than he had been-which was exactly what he had wanted.

With these pleasant thoughts running through his head, Alex sat under a quick, almost scolding shower before sliding under his quilt and falling into a blissfully oblivious sleep.

Alex cursed bitterly when his pager sounded on his bed side table, only four hours later. He wanted to ignore it so badly, and he briefly considered it, but when it beeped at him again, he huffed out an exasperated breath and threw back the covers, diving out of bed and jumping into the first clean clothes he could find.

From the moment he stepped back into the hospital, Alex was rushed off his feet. It seemed like everywhere he turned, someone else was demanding his attention, and he barely had time to breath for two straight hours. When things finally seemed to settle down a little, he decided that he'd hang around for another hour, and if nothing else happened, he'd head back home. In the mean time, he thought he'd head down to the tunnels, where he and his friends often hung out when they weren't busy, and try to get some sleep on one of the beds that were stored down there.

However, his hopes were short-lived, because when he got there, Meredith, George and Izzie were all down there, chatting casually while they ate lunch, and no matter how tired he was, Alex wasn't sure he'd be able to fall asleep while they were around.

"I thought you went home?" Meredith questioned curiously as he plonked himself next to them.

"I did." Alex told her shortly "I got called back in."

"Yeah well, you're a resident now," Izzie snapped "What did you expect?"

Alex ignored her, too tired to bothering arguing, and as much as O'Malley got on his nerves, Alex was grateful that he managed to steer the conversation away. He listened to them chatter for a while, joining in here and there, but he could feel himself dozing, so he wasn't too forthcoming with his contributions.

"Do you guys want to get drinks at Joe's tonight?" Meredith suggested cheerfully, and while there was a hum of agreement from Izzie and George, Alex stifled a yawn and shook his head.

"I've got plans tonight," he told them casually, making Izzie scowl at him. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded, expecting some snarky remark from the blonde woman who still seemed to resent him so much, and she opened her mouth to give him just that, but before she could get anything out, they were interrupted by a nurse emerging at the end of their tunnel hide-out.

"Dr Karev, there's a patient in the pit who's asking for you specifically."

"For what?" Alex questioned sharply, still annoyed at Izzie's incessant ability to hold a grudge, wondering why anyone would be asking for him.

"Sutures." The nurse replied simply, and Alex rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Get one of the interns to do it." He barked, scrubbing a hand tiredly over his face "No one's dying if they only need stitches. Get one of the interns; they could use the practise."

"Well then, her teacher needs to know who else she should call for Katherine." The nurse snapped curtly, annoyed at being ordered around so dismissively. "I don't have time to run around chasing you and your-"

"What did you say?" Alex asked, and Izzie was almost sure she saw the colour drain from his face.

"Who should I call for Katherine?" The nurse questioned impatiently, though she was caught off-guard when Alex jumped from his seat and pushed past her, taking off at a run down the corridor, leaving Izzie, Meredith and George wondering what the hell was going on.

* * *

_**A/N: Hi again haha**_

_**I just want to say that in my head, Katie is perky and cheerful, but at the same time, she can be sarcastic and down to earth, so the last thing I want is to portray her as annoying when she's being perky and cheerful, so if that's ever the case, please let me know!**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hi everyone!**_

_**I wasn't going to post another chapter of this until I'd finished writing the next one, but it's taking me longer than I thought it would (damn exams! haha) and I didn't want it to be too long between chapters, so I decided to post now instead :D**_

_**I realised the other day that I wrote in the last chapter about them being residents, but when I posted the chapter I said that it was season 3. But in season 3, they are still interns, so can we just leave that part out? haha I still want it to be set in season 3, but only for the fact that Alex and, in this story, Katie, move into Meredith's house (not too much of a spoiler I hope haha) so let's just pretend that they aren't interns anymore :) Sorry about that haha**_

_**I really love softy Alex, and this chapter is full of him, so I hope you all enjoy!**_

_**Please R+R and let me know what you all think! I've had so many reviews on this already, and it makes me so happy when I get them, so please, keep them coming! **_

_**Thank you all very much!**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

* * *

_**Chapter Two**_

Alex unapologetically tore down the corridors of the hospital, not caring who or what he crashed into on his way. There was only one thing-one _person_- on his mind, and he needed to get to her. It didn't matter that the nurse had already told him it was only stitches. What he'd said about no one dying if they only needed stitches was true, but it didn't stop his mind from conjuring up the worst scenarios it could, just to taunt him.

He bustled into the ER, his eyes searching frantically until they fell on Katie, and he rushed over.

"Katie? Are you alright? What happened?" Alex demanded worriedly, taking his sister's chin in his hand, raising her face to look at the gash on her head that was oozing blood, dribbling down her cheek.

"What do you think happened Alex?" Katie retorted, pulling away from him sharply.

"Katherine had a seizure during class, and when she fell, she hit her head on a desk." The stern looking, small woman that Alex vaguely recognised as one of Katie's teachers explained.

"And you didn't think it was worth calling me first?" Alex snapped irritably "Instead of just turning up here, freaking me out?"

"Katherine assured me that you wo-"

"That is not my name god damn it!" Katie exclaimed angrily, immediately silencing her brother and teacher, who both simply stared at her, surprised by the sudden outburst "It's Katie, or Kate, or hell, _Bitch-face McDumbass _for all I care! Just stop calling me Katherine."

"I can take it from here," Alex told the woman quietly. For a minute or so, Alex busied himself with signing the form that the teacher handed him before leaving, and Alex was alone with his sister. She was fifteen, but looking at her, she looked so much smaller than usual, her shoulders slumped defeatedly, and her arms wrapped around herself.

"Bitch-face McDumbass?" Alex questioned, chuckling lightly "That's a good one, I'm going to use that." He'd expected at least a small grin out of his sister, but instead, her eyes started to fill a little with tears "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I peed, Alex." She told him quietly, her voice barely above a whisper "Right in the middle of chemistry, in front of everyone." Like the flick of a switch, she seemed to go from embarrassed to angry as she carried on "And normal people don't carry spare pants around with them when they finish kindergarten!"

It wasn't until then that Alex noticed the way she had her jacket laid across her lap, and Katie squirmed self-consciously.

"Alright," Alex started calmly "Forget about it, ok? It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?!" Katie hissed irritably "I'm fifteen! No one at school cares that it's because I have epilepsy; they only see the fact that I'm a freak who can't control my own body!"

"I know, I know," he assured her quickly before she could get even more upset "Listen, I'm going to go and see if I have any pants for you to change into, alright?"

Alex waited for her to nod an acknowledgement, no matter how dejected it was, before stepping away and closing the curtain behind him. He let out a sigh, mostly out of relief because things could have been worse, but also out of exasperation. It had been around ten months since Katie's last seizure. For a little while, the medication she was taking worked tenuously at best, but he really thought it had settled. Now, they were back to square one. It also meant that his plans of helping her pay for her first car for her birthday was out the window-in order to obtain a license, any person prone to seizures must go at least a year without one, and Katie had been so close.

Feeling himself calm down a little now that he was sure nothing life-threatening was wrong with Katie, Alex strode determinedly towards the resident's lounge to raid his cubby for the sweat pants he hoped were still there.

When he emerged again, gratefully carrying the pants that would be way too big on his little sister but were better than nothing, he spotted George walking past and he quickly fell in step.

"O'Malley, just the guy I needed to see." He boomed, uncharacteristically cheerful towards the other man.

"What?" George questioned, caught off-guard by the sudden friendliness.

"I have a patient waiting in the pit who needs stitches with your name on it."

"Why can't you do it?" George asked, furrowing his brow slightly in confusion.

"Well, it's...it's complicated." Alex sighed, really hoping he wouldn't have to give any more of an explanation than that. He'd never regretted taking Katie with him, not for a single second, but surgery was the most intense, competitive route in medicine, and if his colleagues thought that looking after a teenager was a point of weakness, if they saw her as a disadvantage that they weren't burdened with, they would pounce.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, with Alex not really giving George too much of a choice but to follow, and as they approached the ER, George could feel the cogs in his mind whirring. The day was relatively slow, there wasn't much for any of them to do, so why was Karev passing up the chance to actually be doing something? And why would he be recruiting him, of all people, when everyone knew he got on with Meredith and even Cristina more than himself?

"Do you know what? No." George eventually snapped, stopping firmly and staring Alex directly in the eye "Am I going to get in trouble for this? Is that why you won't do it?"

"What? No, look O'Malley, it's just a few stitches, simple." Alex explained dismissively, a little surprised by the change in George's usual assiduous manner.

"Then why won't you do it?" George demanded sternly, determined to stand his ground. Alex let out a sigh. He knew he wasn't going to get any further without being truthful, and as annoying as he thought George O'Malley was, he guessed he could be discreet.

"Because...Because it's my kid sister, and I won't be able to look at her later knowing I put a needle through her skin. So will you do it or not O'Malley? Because if you won't I'll find someone else who will." Alex found himself babbling to get the words out before he could stop himself. He wasn't exactly happy to be so forthcoming about his emotional attachment stopping him from doing his job, and George could tell.

"Yeah," George answered quietly, nodding "Yeah, I'll do it."

They carried on together towards where Katie was still hidden behind the curtain.

"Give her a second," Alex requested, popping his head around the curtain and tossing her the sweatpants he'd dug from the bottom of his cubby, before simply standing his hands braced on his hips.

"What's her name?" George asked while they waited for her to change.

"Katie," Alex answered, and then looked back in his sister's direction, even though he couldn't actually see her "You done Kate?"

"Yeah," They heard a small voice reply, and when Alex pulled back the curtain, George strode confidently over to her.

"Hi Katie," he greeted cheerfully "I'm Doctor O'Malley, but you can call me George if you want."

Katie shot him a small, but warm smile, feeling better now that was in clean clothes, even if they were overly loose and baggy. "Can I take a look?"

Katie nodded and straightened up, turning her face slightly for George to inspect the cut just above her eye better.

"Looks like it hurt," George commented as he began to clean the blood away.

"It did," Katie agreed with a small laugh "Being epileptic and clumsy is not a good combination."

George's gaze flickered to Alex, who ignored it. That was one piece of information Karev had left out. However, before anything more could be said, they heard angry stomps tearing through the ER, and George and Alex knew exactly who they belonged to.

"I'll be right back." Alex muttered to his sister before disappearing, drawing the curtain a little more, and he turned just in time to see Izzie storming towards him.

"Is she who you have plans with?" Izzie demanded "Katherine?"

"Yes, actually." Alex snapped irritably back at her "Not that it's any of your business."

He knew what Izzie was thinking, but he wasn't going to correct her-he didn't want to give her the satisfaction.

"Then next time, why don't you just be a man and tell me if you're dating someone else." Izzie retorted sharply.

"Alex," Katie called quietly, but Alex now had his back up because of Izzie, and he ignored her.

"_Because it's none of your damn business!"_ Alex repeated determinedly "I don't even understand why you're this mad! You're the one who said you couldn't be with me, not the other way around."

"So am I the one you were playing, or was she?" Izzie questioned with a scowl.

"Alex," Katie called again, this time more firmly. Alex cast a glance in her direction, and when he looked away, Izzie took the opportunity to stalk off again. Alex let out a huff before returning to his sister.

But when he saw her, he could have kicked himself for not answering her straight away. Her face was pale and pasty, drained of any colour, and her eyes were slightly glazed over. Her hands were visibly trembling, and he knew exactly what it all meant.

"Another one?" he questioned, just to be sure, and Katie nodded feebly. In one long stride, Alex was by her side, his experience as a doctor overridden by his experience as Katie's older brother.

"Ok, don't panic, ok?" he started softly "Take deep breaths. Lie down." Katie did as she was told, wide eyed and looking scared "Take my hand."

Katie barely had time to slip her hand into her brother's before her eyes rolled back in her head, and she started to jerk convulsively.

"Get out of here O'Malley." Alex demanded quickly, but George remained firmly where he was. He was a doctor, god damn it, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let Alex Karev order him around like he was better than everyone else. But, as Alex turned around and roared "Now!" George's resolve wasn't quite so solid, and after another moment of deliberation, he relented, sliding back to the other side of the curtain. Alex might be a jackass, who only seemed to care about himself, but George could also tell just how fiercely protective the other man was over the girl on the bed, and he quickly realised that normal rules didn't apply in a situation like this.

"Hey, what's going on?"

George hadn't noticed Meredith until she was standing right next to him, and he huffed out a breath, wondering how he was supposed to answer the question. But then, he thought, it wouldn't take long for more people to know about Katie anyway, so he didn't see the point in bothering to lie.

"It's Alex's sister." He told her quietly. Just because it wouldn't take long for the information to travel, didn't mean that it needed to be him to be the one to broadcast it. "She's having a seizure."

"Right now?!" Meredith questioned, and George nodded sullenly "I didn't even know he had a sister."

"Neither did I." George agreed. "She's just a kid."

On the other side of the curtain, Alex was more than relieved when Katie was finally still again, and she groaned, scrubbing one hand over her face and using the other to push herself shakily to a half sitting position.

"You with me Kiddo?" Alex asked quietly, and that was how Katie knew it was bad. Alex only ever called her 'Kiddo' when it was bad.

"I'm getting there," she mumbled groggily back at him, trying to ignore the fact that her whole body now throbbed painfully.

"Are you gonna..." Alex didn't even need to finish the question before Katie nodded, and he quickly grabbed an emesis basin thrusting it into her hands just in time for Katie to empty the contents of her stomach. Alex knew there was nothing he could do but keep her hair out of her face, and that was what he was doing when Bailey marched over, wondering why all her interns were standing around, apparently doing very little.

"What the hell is going on over here?" she demanded sternly.

"Her meds aren't working and I don't know why" Alex implored, and Bailey was confused over how he sounded as close to desperate as she'd ever heard from the usual cocky Alex Karev. Whatever it was, she certainly wasn't going to wait around for them to screw up the poor girl in the bed, who was so obviously uncomfortable.

"Alright, move outta my way" she ordered firmly. If Katie hadn't already guessed that this was her brother's teacher, her tone and the way even Alex seemed to fall away from her at the woman's command made it obvious.

"Ok Sweetie," Bailey started so gently Katie thought she might get whiplash from the sudden change "Can you tell me your name?"

"Katie," She answered, and if Katie wasn't so thrown off by her second seizure of the day, she would have thought to add her surname. But her brain was fogged and her whole body was sore to the point of her not being able to concentrate. It certainly didn't help that her stomach was still churning menacingly.

"Katie, can you tell me where your parent or guardian is?" Bailey questioned, but before she got an answer, Alex darted forward, knowing what was about to happen, and just about managed to give Katie another emesis basin in time for her to throw up again.

"That would be me." Alex told Bailey, sounding almost sheepish.

"What?" Bailey questioned confusedly.

"I'm her brother," Alex answered simply, knowing he'd have to explain why he didn't speak up quicker later on. Honestly, he was just flustered by the situation, and it was clouding his judgement more than he liked to admit. Bailey looked from Alex to Katie and back again, before giving a small nod.

"Ok, O'Malley, you finish these sutures," she instructed before turning to Katie "Katie, I just need to borrow your brother for a little while ok?" Katie nodded and Bailey smiled warmly for a second, and then turned back and looked to Alex and Meredith Karev, Grey, walk with me."

Alex looked hesitant, not really wanting to leave Katie, but he knew better than to argue, so he fell into step with the two women.

"Alright Karev, you have thirty seconds to explain, starting now. Go." Bailey barked, and Alex decided to tackle trying to be objective by acting as if it was rounds.

"Katie Karev, fifteen, diagnosed epileptic when she was eight," He listed shortly, and even though his words were simple and distant, his tone was anything but, and it was plainly obvious that he was worried "Presents with two grand mal seizures, despite taking medication that has worked fine up until today, with no obvious cause for the sudden change.

"You know," Bailey responded, taking in the information she'd been given "this would have all been a lot simpler if she was wearing a medical alert bracelet or something."

"I know," Alex replied "I tried to make her wear one but she won't."

"Is the vomiting normal after a seizure, or does she need a CT since she hit her head?"

"No, it happens almost every time she has a seizure."

"Alright, well, you're officially off the clock now." She told him seriously, in a tone that clearly said _'Don't bother _arguing' before she turned to Meredith "Page neuro, order an MRI and get some blood tests done," She ordered firmly "You say her meds aren't working, so I want to know why."


	4. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Hi everyone!**_

_**Ok, I'm horrible at this haha I know it's been forever since I updated this story, but I've been so busy lately, and because I'm apparently incapable of only having one story at a time, one of them had to go on the back burner for a little while. Unfortunately, it was this one, but I have the next few chapters planned out, so hopefully it won't be too long until they are written and posted!**_

_**Thank you all for being so patient with me! I love all the reviews I've been getting, so please, if you like this (or even if you don't! haha) keep them coming!**_

_**I'm going to shut up now because it's nearly 2am here, but I was determined to finish this chapter haha**_

_**Please R+R! **_

_**Thanks so much!**_

_**xoloveJBox**_

* * *

_**Chapter Three**_

Katie was tense. That was the only way to describe the anxiousness she felt as George resumed stitching up her forehead. She was more than used to the ill-feeling she experienced after a seizure, but this was different. She'd never had more than one seizure in a day before, never mind two in as many hours. To make matters worse, Alex seemed to have wondered off, her muscles were throbbing painfully, and her head felt like it was full of fog. It certainly didn't help that she was having trouble ignoring the fact that her face was still being sown back together.

"Doctor O'Malley?" She started quietly "When you're finished, could I go and get some fresh air?"

"I don't see why not," George answered simply "but you're going to have to let me come with you, and you're going to have to use a wheelchair. Hospital policy."

George had expected her to argue. She was Alex Karev's sister, after all. But he was surprised to see that she simply nodded earnestly.

"I don't think my legs could hold me up right now anyway," She half-joked. The area of skin that George was stitching had been numbed, but she still felt the slight tugging of the needle and suture thread passing through her skin. When George had finished them-five in total, enough that she was probably going to have a scar, much to Katie's chagrin- he disappeared for a moment, and returned with an unpleasant looking needle. He drew blood from the underside of her elbow and sent it away to be tested, before retrieving a wheelchair. Katie grinned happily as George waited patiently for her to sit in it, though it felt to Katie like her whole body was creaking in protest to the movement.

The cubicle that Katie had been situated in was near the entrance of the ER, and within a minute, they had weaved around the bustling and emerged outside. George wheeled her over to a low wall that housed a small patch of flowers. He perched on the slightly warm bricks, and Katie felt like she could breathe for the first time all morning.

It was one of the rare rainless Seattle days, and the sun shone brightly, bouncing off the asphalt of the parking lot. The warmth it emitted was balanced almost perfectly with the cool, pleasant breeze, and if Katie had had a choice, she'd have stayed out there all day. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back slightly, feeling the golden rays on her face for a few blissfully long moments before George's voice broke through her increasingly relaxed mind.

"Can I ask you something?" He inquired, and Katie nodded, peeling her eyes open and looking across at him "What's Alex like at home? Here he's..." George quickly stopped himself, having to remind himself that it was Alex's sister he was speaking to.

"A pain in ass? Over-competitive? A little bit of a jerk?" Katie offered with a knowing smile. She chuckled when she noticed him blushing slightly "Don't worry, I know what he's like."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have sa-" George started apologetically.

"It's ok," Katie interjected with a light, casual air "I know he can be a jerk. But he's my brother, and he's the only person who ever bothered to take care of me."

Katie saw the almost bewildered look on George's face, and she let out a small chuckle. "I guess it is a little hard to believe that Alex would be the kind of person to take his kid sister to college with him, right?"

Again, she was met with a confused expression, and Katie realised she had underestimated just how little her brother had revealed about himself to the people he worked with.

"You didn't know about that?" she guessed, although she knew Alex well enough to know he wouldn't exactly be forthcoming with details about his childhood.

"We didn't even know about you." George corrected, but again, Katie wasn't really all that surprised.

"Well, he talks about you guys all the time." Katie told him casually with a dismissive shrug. This time, it was George's turn to be slightly bewildered. The idea that Alex would go home and discuss his day was so juxtaposing with the way he was at work, it was almost enough to give George whip lash.

"He does?" George questioned curiously, cocking his head to the side slightly.

"Yeah," Katie replied with a grin "I heard about the heart in the elevator. It sounded like it was really cool, Doctor O'Malley."

Truly astounded that Alex not only went home and talked to his sister about them, but that he did it in a praising way, George didn't know what to say in response. Katie seemed to understand his silence, and she soon settled into too, but after a minute or two, she found that tiredness also came with it, so she spurred up the conversation again in hopes of keeping herself awake.

"So he doesn't talk about me at all?" She asked incredulously.

"No," George replied slightly apologetically "sorry."

"What an asshole!" Katie exclaimed back, making them both chuckle. However, their laughter didn't last long when they heard hurried footsteps approaching, and Alex calling out.

"O'Malley, what the hell do you think you're doing?" He demanded sharply, a deep frown furrowed onto his face "You can't just wander off with patients, especially not my sister! I had no idea where sh-"

"Hey Jackass!" Katie interrupted him loudly.

"What?" Alex demanded, his hands on his hips irritably.  
"Quit yelling at George!"

Alex was undeniably caught off-guard by his sister's outburst, and a small frown slipped back onto his face "Well, Shepherd's ready for you." He grumbled, motioning for George to move behind Katie and turning the wheelchair towards the door to go back inside.

As they walked, Katie continued to chat with George as if they were friends, and by the time they came across an empty exam room, George was beginning to wonder if Katie was adopted, because he was sure there was no way she and Alex could be related. But, even in the short time that he'd known Katie, he'd already noticed little things-facial expressions and quick, sarcastic comments- that made it plainly obvious that the two of them were family, and the thought softened the harshness that Alex quite often gave the impression of.

George left to find out how far Katie's results had come, and Alex leaned against the counter on the other side of the room casually.

"Alex, do I have to go to school tomorrow?" Katie asked quietly after a moment of silently biting her lip.

"Not if you don't want to," Alex shrugged, knowing exactly what she was thinking, and the relief that seemed to wash over his sister's face confirmed his suspicions, so he added "but avoiding it won't make you feel any better when you do go back."

"But Alex, everyone saw," Katie whined pleadingly. She knew he was right, but it didn't make much difference to her at that moment.

"And it won't take long for one of those other snot-rags at school to do something that'll make everyone forget," Alex retorted "Trust me Kate, in a few days, it'll all have blown over, but the longer you avoid it, the longer it'll take."

Katie was about to argue, but she was stopped by a dark-haired man bustling in with a file under his nose, barely looking up as he greeted them.

"Good afternoon, I'm Dr. Shepherd," he glanced up for a moment, but looked confused when he spotted Alex. "Karev, I thought O'Malley was the intern for Miss..." He looked down again at the notes in his hand before furrowing his brow slightly "Karev?

"This is my sister, Katie." Alex explained for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"Huh. I didn't know you had a sister." Derek commented casually.

"He doesn't tell people in case they realise that I'm the smarter sibling." Katie told him playfully with a mischievous grin.

Alex scoffed "You wish." He muttered under his breath.

"You know what, I can see it now." Derek smiled, looking from one sibling to the other "You guys look alike."

"That must be why Alex tells me I have a stupid face." Katie joked quickly, throwing her brother a jesting grin. Alex feigned a scowl, but a small ghost of a smile managed to slip out, blowing his cover.

"Ok Katie," Derek carried on, barely suppressing a chuckle at the two of them "I want you to look right here for me."

He held up a finger in front of Katie's eyes and reached for the small light from his chest pocket, but the moment he flicked it on, Katie squeezed her eyes closed and lowered her head.

"You have photosensitive epilepsy?" Derek asked, looking up at Alex, who shook his head and shot his sister a confused glance.

"No," Katie answered, her voice small and slightly wary "but, umm, I've also never had two seizures in one day before, so if it's a day for firsts, I don't want to push my luck."

Derek looked over at Alex again, who could only shrug cluelessly. He could understand Katie's way of thinking, and in a way, he agreed with her. Until they knew why she'd had even one seizure-never mind two- for seemingly no reason, he didn't want to take any chances either.

"Alright," Derek relented, putting the light back into his pocket as Katie slowly peeled open her eyes again cautiously "Let's skip that, and head straight down to the MRI, huh?"

Katie nodded gratefully, stumbling slightly on sore, tired legs as she made to go back to the wheelchair. Within a second, Alex was by her side, but Katie shooed his away dismissively, not wanting her big brother to know just how much of a toll the morning had taken on her. Alex gently guided her into the seat, though Katie could feel her cheeks burning self-consciously. She didn't say another word until cautious surprise forced her to when they arrived in the room that held the MRI machine.

"What the hell is that?" Katie demanded, taking in the obscure looking machine with dubious uncertainty.

"It's the MRI machine." George told her simply as he wheeled her closer with Alex following behind them, and Derek setting up the computer in the other room.

"I'm going to need a little more detail George." Katie replied, feeling her fingers clenching and unclenching nervously.

"Basically, it's a giant magnet, and we're going to use it to take pictures of your brain." George explained to her calmly.

"Since when do magnets take photos?" She asked incredulously, anxiousness seeping into her voice.

"Alright, quit being a baby," Alex expostulated, tossing a pale green gown into her lap and jerking a thumb towards the machine, indicating for her to get in.

"Jackass." Katie tutted, though she obeyed all the same, waiting for the two men to leave before changing her clothes and clambering on, listening as George told her that she had to lie still while the machine scanned her. When they were ready to start, Alex and George went around to the other room that controlled the MRI machine. Katie wasn't sure what it was about the machine that unnerved her, but it undoubtedly did. Katie wasn't usually a particularly nervous person-in general, she was a fairly confident, outgoing person, but the events of the day had thrown her off kilter. She flinched slightly when the bed started to move, the machine engulfing her, and she was so determined to do as she'd been told, to be still, that she was beginning to go stiff. For ten minutes or so, she stayed silent, taking deep, forced breaths, resisting the urge to tap her foot or drum her fingers.

From where he stood, Alex could see how nervous his little sister was, so he decided to try and distract her. In general, Alex knew that Katie wasn't a nervous kid. When she had been younger, he lost count of the amount of band-aids she used to get through in a week, because she always seemed so fearless, always the first one to try things, even if it wasn't the cleverest idea. She'd never thought twice about being the first to jump off the climbing frame to see how far away she could land, or whether she could hang upside down on the monkey bars. Her epilepsy had shaken her confidence, there was no denying it, but anyone he knew her any less than Alex did-which was most people-probably wouldn't have noticed the change. To see the anxiety that was emanating from her in waves from being in the MRI machine, it wasn't something that Alex took lightly.

"How're you doing Kate?" He asked cheerfully over the intercom that connected the two rooms, and the sudden sound made Katie jump.

"I...I know you told me not to be a baby," She stumbled over her words, trying to get them out in one piece "and I'm trying, but the big magnet is really starting to freak me out, so umm, is it nearly done?"

"Hey Angel-face, listen to me: would I have let you get in the big magnet if I thought it was going to hurt you?" Alex questioned, using a familiar nickname in an attempt to ease some of her evident discomfort.

"I guess not." Katie replied a little shakily.

"You guess not?" Alex challenged with a cocked eyebrow.

"No, you wouldn't." Katie corrected herself, sounding slightly firmer with the knowledge.

"But it's still freaking you out, right?" Alex guessed knowingly.

Katie let out a breathy chuckle before admitting "A little bit, yeah.

"Alright," Alex started, looking at the partially complete scan slowly making its way onto the screen in front of he and George "well, there's only a few minutes left, I promise. How about I talk to you while it finishes, huh?"

"Ok."

"Ok. What homework do you have tonight?" He asked the first thing that came to his mind.

"Wow," Katie sighed, sounding amused "you suck at this.

"What?" Alex exclaimed, genuinely surprised "No I don't."

"Seriously?" Katie laughed, feeling some of her anxiety seeping out with the familiar banter she and her brother often fell into "You're using a friggin' magnet to take pictures of my _brain_, and you're asking me about my homework?"

"Oh shut up." Alex snapped playfully "I'm awesome at this; you're just a dumbass."

"Oh yeah, ok. I wonder where I got it from." Katie retorted before her voice lowered apologetically "I'm sorry you had to come back here Alex. God knows we needed to go grocery shopping."

"For my favourite lady, we can reschedule." Alex told her gently.

Just as he'd promised, within a few minutes Katie was finally allowed to sit up, and Alex re-entered to wheel the chair back over to her. He could tell that Katie didn't want to get back in it, that she'd rather walk, no matter how tired she was, but before she could argue he shot her a look that told her not to bother.

"Nice job Princess." He praised as she sat down. Katie looked up and smiled wearily at him. She was too tired to think about the fact that Alex being nice to her probably meant she looked just as crappy as she felt.

As they exited, George's pager beeped demandingly in his pocket, and he pulled it out quickly, scanning the information and reading it aloud.

"Bailey has your test results," he informed them, and after telling Alex where Bailey would be waiting for them, he went to wander off in search of something to do until he knew whether there was anything else Katie might need.

"O'Malley," Alex called before George could get very far, and George turned towards him quizzically "Thanks."

If George was surprised by the word that fell out of Alex's mouth, he didn't show it. He simply nodded an acknowledgement and carried on, not wanting to over-think the gesture too much.

"See, that was nice," Katie told her brother when George was out of sight "I'm proud of you buddy."

"Hey, I can _be _nice," Alex argued as they started to make their way through the hospital.

"Oh yeah?" Katie challenged, her eyebrow cocked questioningly "When?"

"Shut up," Alex replied, not for the first time, and Katie let out a playful cackle that had a smile creeping onto Alex's face too.

It didn't take them long to reach Bailey, who was rereading Katie's notes while she waited, just to be one hundred percent sure she hadn't missed anything, and the woman grinned warmly when the two Karev siblings entered.

"Are you feeling any better Katie?" Bailey asked conversationally. Bailey noticed that the girl certainly _looked _better than she did when she'd last seen her.

Katie nodded "I'll feel a lot better when I know what's going on inside my head."

Bailey smiled sympathetically before starting her explanation "Well, you have what can best be described as an over-active immune system," she told them, and Alex looked like he could have kicked himself for not thinking of it himself "It means that your body is treating your medication as something that it needs to fight off, which is why they all seem to stop working after a while. Essentially, you're becoming immune to them."

Katie looked at her brother confusedly before turning back to Bailey. "Does that mean it's going to happen with all medications?" She asked worriedly.

"Not necessarily," Bailey assured her "You may find one that suits your body and works just fine, but if not, there are other options we can try."

"Like what?" Katie questioned curiously, but when Bailey opened her mouth to answer, Alex stepped forward determinedly.

"We'll deal with that if and when we need to." He interrupted firmly. He knew about the options Bailey was about to suggest, and he didn't want Katie to spend the time until she _possibly_ had to consider them dwelling needlessly on them. Bailey looked confused for a second before catching on to what Alex meant, so she nodded understandingly.

"For now," Bailey continued, looking back to Katie "I would suggest going home and getting some rest. You can come back in about a week to have your stitches removed."

"Come on Kiddo," Alex chimed cheerfully, and despite his pleasant demeanour-no matter how forced it was-Katie could see that he was worried. But she knew without a doubt that her brother had always been straight with her-even when he probably shouldn't have been-so she trusted that if there was anything to tell, he would let her know at the right time. Pushing concerned thoughts from her head, Katie hopped down from the bed. Alex held out his arm to her, and when she was next to him, he wrapped it encouragingly around her shoulder.

"Thanks Bailey," Alex said to his mentor, and the woman nodded in acknowledgment, giving him a small, warm smile. Katie was the answer to a lot of questions Bailey had had about Dr Karev, and she suddenly felt like she understood him more than she did previous to meeting his sister.

As they walked together down the corridors of the hospital, Alex bade goodbye to a handful of people, and soon enough, they were emerging onto the parking lot.

"You want to watch a movie when we get home?" Alex asked casually.

"Sure," Katie replied, stifling a yawn.

"What do you feel like?" Even before he asked the question, Alex knew the answer, but he hoped he was wrong. The knowing smirk on Katie's face told him he wasn't.

"Come on," he groaned dejectedly "Really? '_Footloose'_ again?"

"Of course!" Katie grinned, knowing that her favourite movie was one she'd forced her brother to endure countless times.

"Can we at least try the newer version?" Alex appealed "I'm not sure how much more Kevin Bacon I can take."

"Sacrilege," Katie retorted "You always say there's no such thing as too much bacon."

"That's not exactly what I mean," Alex muttered before finally relenting "Alright, but next time, I'm choosing the movie."

However, Alex needn't have worried, because Katie was asleep before they'd even pulled out of the parking lot.


End file.
